Letter Carrier

Transport mail and packages along daily delivery routes.

Quick Stats

Outlook

Good

Salary Range

$38,000 – $56,000

Data from U.S. Department of Labor

What do Letter Carriers do?

At first, you might think Steve Carrell, Abraham Lincoln, and Walt Disney don’t have anything in common. But actually, all three were Letter Carriers for the United States post office at some point in their lives. Letter Carriers deliver letters and packages to homes and businesses around the country.

If you hope to follow in their illustrious footsteps, you should know a few things about letter carrying. First, you have a few choices in terms of where to work. You can be a City Letter Carrier, a Rural Letter Carrier, or a Highway Letter Carrier. Each handles a specific area and a particular type of route.

City Letter Carriers obviously work in cities, walking from door to door with their large, canvas bags. Rural Letter Carriers work in smaller towns, and do their rounds either with their bags or their mail trucks. Highway Letter Carriers tend to have the longest routes as far as miles go, but see fewer houses. In this role, you work in really rural places, driving a truck to deliver mail to houses located way out in the boonies.

Another important thing you should know is that working conditions can really vary from day to day and from season to season. Like the popular saying goes, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat” stops Letter Carriers. Instead of staying inside on awful days, you throw on a heavy coat and a pair of rain boots in addition to your standard blue uniform, and get out there. Also, shifts can start pretty early in this job (as in, four in the morning), so keep your alarm clock close to you.

Should I be a Letter Carrier?

You should have
a
high school
degree or higher and share these traits:

Reliable:
You can always be counted on to do a good job.

Detail Oriented:
You pay close attention to all the little details.

Calm Under Pressure:
You keep your cool when dealing with highly stressful situations.